Summer Writing
About the Summer Writing Program
Our four-week writing program is open to students enrolled at St. George's in all forms. Students work one-on-one with a Humanities teacher to complete weekly reading and writing assignments tailored to their needs and interests. Assignments are geared toward developing analytical reading, writing, and communication skills. Each student receives personal feedback via email and Zoom conferences and careful attention is paid to each individual's development. Cost for the program is $800.
Applications are due May 31.
Required
The program runs four consecutive weeks
The program director will reach out after registration to determine a schedule that works for each family. Please let us know which time frames work best for your family when registering.
• June 11 - July 8
• June 18 - July 115
• June 25 - July 22
• July 2- 29
• July 9 - Aug. 5
• July 16 - Aug. 12
Overview
The key to success in this course is working closely and openly with the instructor. Engage with the material. Respond to it. Ask questions. Communication is crucial – this is true of boarding school and online courses. At the start of the program, you should exchange email addresses and phone numbers with your instructor. If you have a problem with your email, you should always call.
Online learning is individual. You must be:
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Ambitious
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Independent
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Self-starting
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Honest
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Communicative
Online learning relies on technology. You must have:
- A reliable computer
- A reliable internet connection
- An email address
- Comfort with word-processing and email programs
- The ability to plan ahead, anticipating and troubleshooting basic technological glitches
Tentative Weekly Structure:
Day 1 — The instructor will email about two short reading assignments (articles or stories), with reading questions for each, and two essay topics.
Day 2 — You will then read the stories on your own, consider the reading questions, and examine the essay topics.
Day 3 — You will email the instructor with a letter in which you discuss the stories, responding to questions and essay topics, formulating questions of your own about the stories or topics, and presenting preliminary ideas about the essay that you will write. (Length = approx. 500 words)
Day 4 — The instructor will email you back, responding to your questions and ideas, making suggestions for your paper, helping you understand the stories, and pointing out places where you might examine the text or focus your analysis.
Day 5 or 6 — You will write your essay, taking into account comments from the instructor’s letter and email your essay to your instructor, along with a brief email explaining what you think are the strengths and weaknesses of your paper, what was hard and what was easy, and any remaining questions you have.
Day 7 or 8 — The instructor will respond, returning your essay with extensive comments, highlighting what you have done well, and addressing the skills on which you need to focus. Narrative comments will relate to your ideas and analysis as well as the grammar and structure of your essay.
If either the student or the instructor does not adhere to the above structure, open and timely communication is imperative. Emergencies do happen. However, any delay in submission or response needs to be accounted for in advance. If either the instructor or the student has concerns about lack of communication or missed deadline, the program administrator should be contacted immediately. If a student has a problem with comments or responsiveness from an instructor, it is that student’s obligation to contact the administrator immediately. Concerns and complaints that are not raised until the end of the program will not result in a refund or other amelioration; problems must be brought to the attention of the administration within a week of their occurrence.
Administrator contact: Chad Ploskina, chad_ploskina@stgeorges.edu
program STRUCTURE
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The program is four weeks in length.
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The sum total of written work will therefore be four letters and four essays from the student, along with four responses and four extensive commentaries from the instructor.
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Once the contract is signed, an instructor or administrator will be in contact to establish the program schedule. Once this schedule is set, any variation from it (on the part of the student or instructor) must be agreed to in advance.
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At the end of the program, the instructor will write a narrative summary of the student’s progress and effort in the course. This will be given to the student and parent as well as to the Humanities department.
Honor Code
By registering for the Summer Writing Program, you are indicating that you have read and understood the St. George’s School Honor Code and agree to abide by it in your work, participation, and action throughout this program. While the entirety of the Honor Code is expected to be upheld, bullets worth calling to attention include:
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I pledge to be truthful in my words and honorable in my actions.
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I pledge that for any academic work, I have neither given nor received unauthorized information in the course of preparing that work (assignments, tests, examinations, projects, etc.), and I have not plagiarized.
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I pledge to treat respectfully the person, reputation, and property of all members of the community, and our surroundings.
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I understand that if I violate these principles I am undermining the pillars of honor, trust, and respect on which this code and the community are built, and that acting dishonorably has consequences.